Left Behind
by purpleboats
Summary: Robin deals with the anniversary of his parents' death just like he has every year, but this time his friends are there for him. Almost pure fluff and mischevious!teammates who enjoy invading their leader's privacy.
1. Chapter 1

**I've been having SO MANY IDEAS and I couldn't fit them all into 'Fly Away, Little Bird' so I decided to write this before my head exploded. Funny how I have chapter 6 half-written in my doc bin for 'FA, LB' and I'm starting another story. Yeah, I know, another Robin fic. Feels like I'm obsessed, but it's not like I'm the only person with intense Dick Grayson feels. So intense, you guys. So intense. This idea might have been a little more fitting as a YJ fic, but I'm still a little noobish with that (and I haven't finished the second season yet, too many feels), so yeah. **

**By the time you read this, I'll probably still be taking story requests. I don't bite, shoot me an email. If I'm taking them, there will be details on my profile.  
**

**In this story, Go! issue #47 (Regarding Robin) never happened. This kind of takes place a year before that (this would be the second April 1st since the titans founded).  
**

**I'll be your betareader btw. Check my profile, you peasant.  
**

**Anyway, I don't know if it's required or not, but I don't own Teen Titans and have never claimed to.  
**

**On with the typing.**

* * *

Robin was having a nightmare. No, he wasn't a stranger to them- he'd had some about pretty much everything at one time or another: Murders, suicides, his friends dying, his friends betraying him, him betraying his friends. He'd had some about Slade, some about the Joker, and even some about Batman (who was scary, no matter how close to him you were).

He'd had this particular nightmare more than a few times. It always plagued around this time of year. It was almost midnight, March 31st- the night before the first of April.

Only Batman, Raven, and Robin himself knew the importance of April 1st. No, not April fools day. April 1st, to Robin, was far from humorous.

_Inside a blue and white circus tent, a short woman wearing a red and gold leotard with dark green bottoms knelt down and kissed her ebony-haired son on the forehead, her wavy, golden brown braid swaying slightly as she moved. She looked into his deep, azure-blue eyes, the same colour as her own, shining with excitement for the upcoming show._

_"Now, be careful, sendre. Hold on tight, and don't worry about the net, okay? It will be a kushti ratti." She said softly, pulling him in a motherly embrace. The boy, who was around 8 years old, was held for a few moments before a muscular man wearing the same leotard as his wife and son walked in.  
_

_"Are you excited?" He asked, kneeling down beside them. The boy grinned and nodded quickly, wiping lipstick off his forehead.  
_

_"Five minutes, Graysons." A man's voice could be heard through the fabric of the curtain.  
_

_"You remember the routine, Dick?" The father asked.  
_

_"Arvah! Routine number two, and then a quadruple somersault for the finale, right?" The boy answered. His mother nodded, putting a hand on his cheek.  
_

_"Our little robin, flying through the air. Oh, I love you, Dick. Let's get ready, okay?" She stood up, leading him by his hand through the curtain. Her husband followed.  
_

_"The death defying trapeze act, performed by John and Mary Grayson, as well as their son, Richard! And even more, they all perform without a net!" Mr. Haly, the ringleader, announced to the crowds of amazed people watching the circus.  
_

_Gripping the trapeze tightly, the ebony-haired boy leaped off of the platform, grabbing his mother's hands as she flew towards him, arms outstretched. He let go as his father grabbed his feet and tossed him onto the platform on the other side of the ring in a fluid movement. The crowd 'Ooh'd and 'Aah'd as the Graysons performed well-practiced maneuvers in the air. Mary swung from her legs towards Richard, holding her arms out. The boy leaned forward to grab her hands, and then-  
_

_'Snap.'  
_

_Mary Grayson's eyes widened at the sickening realization.  
_

_"Dick!" She shouted as she fell to the ground with her husband.  
_

_"No!" Richard cried, his arm still reaching towards his falling mother, as if somehow, some way, he'd be able to pull her back up. To have her stroke his hair, to speak in her soft, kind voice. To have her tell him it'd be all right, that it was all a dream. To have them both hold him in their arms, snippets of Romani littering their speech.  
_

_'Crunch.'  
_

_Dick barely heard the sound of his parents hitting the ground over his own sobs. He practically flew down the ladder, running towards the broken bodies of the people who had raised him. The circus was quiet. The only thing anyone heard was the heart-wrenching sobs coming from the eight-year-old boy who had his mother's bloodied hand in his lap, begging her to wake up.  
_

Darkness.

That was what Robin saw when he opened his eyes. Lifting a hand up to his face, he didn't feel the familiar black and white fabric, he remembered taking if off before he went to bed. Of course. He'd started removing his mask because of the tears. His face was streaked with them.

Robin didn't scream when he had nightmares, instead electing to cry his eyes out. This was a good thing, as the Boy Wonder had been having so many of them lately that the entire city would have been complaining, not to mention the rest of the Titans.

Robin sobbed silently into his hands. It felt so out of character for Robin, Batman's former protégé, to be crying. Batman didn't cry. At least, during the 5 years Robin had lived with Gotham's Dark Night, he'd never _seen_ him cry. He was too intimidating.

Robin heard a light knocking on his door. Picking his mask up from the table, he pressed it back into it's rightful place. Robin walked up to to the door, opening it with a 'whoosh' noise.

Raven stood in the doorway, eyes red and puffy. She looked at Robin solemnly.

"I'm sor-" Robin didn't get to finish as Raven pulled into a hug. To the empath's surprise, he hugged her back. They stood there in front of Robin's room, unmoving. Neither of them felt the need to say anything- it was an unspoken agreement.

Raven didn't mind that Robin was sobbing softly on her shoulder. She also didn't mind that he had woken her up in the middle of the night and made her cry. Raven had woken up because of her leader's (and a certain green changeling's) nightmares before, but they had rarely made her feel this way. She knew that Robin had gone through more at a young age than most people had by the time they had lived a long life. She knew about his parents. About the circus. About Batman.

Of course, Raven hadn't seen _everything_ when she'd gone into Robin's mind. She could only guess why he'd made her feel this way.

Raven didn't pry, and neither did Robin.

After a couple minutes, the hug broke off. Robin silently thanked her and returned to his room, closing the door.

When Raven turned, she saw Beast Boy standing in the hall.

"Was Robin just crying on you?" The shapeshifter raised an eyebrow.

Raven sniffled. "Both of you wake me up at night."

Beast Boy looked puzzled for a moment, then it finally clicked. "Oh. Well-"

"Orphans get nightmares. I know." Raven cut him off. Before Beast Boy could protest, her door had closed. He frowned, returning to his own room. _Robin was an orphan?_

Beast Boy tried to go back to sleep- _tried_ being the keyword. Damn enhanced hearing. He could hear noises from all over the tower: Cyborg's late night snacking, Raven's low meditation chant, Starfire's space heater, Robin's... Sobbing? It was inhumanly faint, but Robin was sobbing, Beast Boy could tell.

Beast Boy shook his head. _It's not like I was gonna get any more sleep anyway.  
_

Returning to the hall, he walked up to Robin's door. Raising his fist hesitantly, he knocked on it. He heard shuffling and footsteps before the door actually opened, revealing a tired-looking Robin with crooked eyewear. A green gloved hand reached up and straightened the offending domino mask.

"Is something wrong?" Robin asked.

Beast Boy cleared his throat. "Uh... I should be asking you the same thing. These attractive ears aren't just for show, dude."

Robin looked at his teammate and sighed. "No. Go to sleep." He reached up towards the button that would close his door.

"But-" Beast Boy attempted to protest.

"No." The door slid shut, leaving the green changeling standing alone. As he was walking to the main room, Beast Boy yawned, morphing into a cat. He jumped up onto the couch and curled up tightly, pressing his tail to his body. Within seconds, he was fast asleep.

* * *

**So many feels, you guys.**

**Once again, a chapter uploaded during the unholy hours of the morning/night. Either way, I'm gonna pass out any moment.  
**

**Anyway, here are some Romani translations. Romani!Graysons are my favourite headcanon (ahhh, circus stereotypes, they burn). Don't worry, I'll smooth out the doubts you may have about this being a good idea.  
**

**_Sendre_ is 'child'.  
**

**_Kushti Ratti_ is 'good night'.  
**

**Both _Arvah_ and _Hai_ mean 'Yes'.  
**

**This was super depressing to write, I cried mental tears. Why must I torture Robin?  
**

**The reason that the circus scene isn't the same as the one in 'A Matter of Family' from The Batman is because Teen Titans doesn't appear to take place after that. In 'Regarding Robin/One Morning' the Flying Graysons poster shows that his mother has a braid and not a short ponytail (when performing it is shown that she has a long ponytail), and ropes snapping instead of loose cables (in The Batman Tony Zucco removed the nuts from the bars supporting the trapeze).  
I kind of disliked the way they portrayed Robin in the entire series, actually. He seemed so happy and upbeat all the time, despite the fact that the memory of his parents getting killed would have logically still been fresh in his mind. I know he needed to be the hyper acrobatic child that added light to Batsy's life, but it was a little much for me, don't know about you.****  
**

**In any case, don't hurt me because of my headcanon.  
**

**Until next time.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm feeling more motivated to write chapters for this than I am for FA, LB. I know, man.  
**

**Thanks for the favourites, yo. I'm definitely not the only person with Grayson feels.**

* * *

Beast Boy cracked open one of his feline eyes as Robin sat down on the couch beside him. Standing up, he stretched and yawned, digging his claws into the black fabric of the couch. He padded over to Robin.

"Mrow?"

The Boy Wonder looked over and scratched Beast Boy's ear.

"Morning." Robin's voice was flat and emotionless. Beast Boy, in his tired state, didn't notice the negative mood as he morphed back into a human, standing up and yawning.

"Mornin'. What's up?" The changeling asked cheerfully.

"Nothing." Robin deadpanned. "Why'd you sleep out here?"

"Too noisy." Beast Boy replied.

The masked hero's gaze shifted to his teammate's large, pointed ears. "Right."

Beast Boy stared for a moment. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "Dude, it's April Fools! You think Cyborg's up yet?"

Robin hesitated to speak. "We're the only ones awake." He replied seriously.

Beast Boy practically sprinted to the fridge, snatching a bottle of non-dairy whipped cream. He was gone before the fridge door was closed.

Robin closed his eyes and sighed, savoring the silence.

He heard the door open, but didn't turn to look. He could tell by the sound of her footsteps that it was Raven. She sat down beside him, cup of tea in hand. Last Christmas he had bought her a portable kettle and black teapot so she could make her favourite beverage while inside her room. It had been a good investment.

Robin didn't open his eyes. The only sound heard was the quiet breathing of both hero and heroine.

"I'm sorry." Robin broke the silence.

"Don't be." Raven replied softly. "You would have done the same for me."

"I wouldn't have noticed." He countered.

"Yes, you would have." Raven insisted. Robin didn't say anything. They sat there, unmoving, for a while.

"Thanks." Robin told his teammate.

The corner of Raven's mouth lifted. "Don't mention it."

**_"BEAST_ _BOY!"_** Cyborg's yell echoed throughout the tower.

Neither of them flinched._  
_

"Vegan whipped cream." Robin said, eyes still closed.

"Ah." Raven continued looking out the window, sipping her tea. "So-"

"Seven years." Robin said simply. The empath froze.

"Oh." She said, so softly that Robin could barely hear her.

A wave of sadness and anger rolled off of her teammate. Raven put a hand on his shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault." She attempted to comfort him. Robin didn't reply.

Suddenly, Beast Boy burst through the door, pink, creamy, foam in his hair. He stopped running for a second in order to look at his teammates.

"What _is_ it with you lately, dude?" The green hero inquired, earning a glare from Raven and a Robin who didn't even bother to turn his head. Crashing was heard from behind the door. "Never mind!" Beast Boy opened the cupboard and flew into it as a fly before an angry, vegan whipped cream covered Cyborg bypassed the door lock. After looking around in puzzlement for a moment, the half-robot's gaze shifted to his teammates, who were still sitting on the couch.

"Y'all seen BB?" He asked, flicking a dollop of pink goop off of his eyebrow.

"He's a fly." Raven answered plainly. Cyborg smiled mischievously, opening the cupboard and grabbing a bottle of honey. Pulling open one of the lower drawers, he came up with a small, purple dish. A satisfying 'POP' was heard as Cyborg flipped the lid off of the honey and squeezed it violently onto the plate. Placing his science experiment on the counter, he stepped away, crossed his arms, tapped his foot on the floor, and whistled innocently.

Slowly but surely, a small green fly hovered hesitantly out of the open cupboard door. Before he could land on the edge of the plate, Cyborg had snatched a glass jar from one of the lower drawers and trapped his teammate inside it. When he was done screwing on the lid, he placed it on the counter and leaned down to get a better look at the quivering Beast Boy, who had morphed into a Chickadee. "_I'm_ makin' breakfast this morning. I wonder how little birdies taste?" He teased. The small, green creature flapped his wings frantically and let out stream of bird profanities.

"Maybe not. I doubt you're very good, BB." He paused for a moment. "Anyway, _I'm_ gonna cook some meat and _you're_ gonna watch. How's that for an April fools?"

Beast Boy morphed into a parrot and bird-glared at his teammate. "At least punch me some air holes, tin can!" He squawked.

Cyborg looked sheepish as he melted a few tiny holes in the lid of the jar with a laser from his finger, almost frying his friend in the process. "Good enough, grass stain?"

The green parrot, who was still shocked from almost being barbecued, didn't say anything.

Raven turned around. "I can tell this is going to be a good day. Beast Boy's already immobilized."

Cyborg flashed her a thumbs up as he pulled some pans out of the cupboard. Remembering Robin, who had been sitting next to Raven earlier, he turned around again. His teammate was standing by the doorway. "Yo, Rob-" He was cut off.

"Not hungry." The Boy Wonder left the room before his teammates could protest.

Cyborg turned to Raven. "Didn't he do that last year?"

"Yes." Raven stated plainly.

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Why do you assume _I_ know?" She asked.

The half-robot smirked and dumped an entire package of bacon into the pan. "You know I know you know."

Raven sighed. "Why don't you ask _Robin_?"

Beast Boy the Parrot spoke up. "Because he's never gonna tell anyone, ever!"

"I don't know why he's upset, Beast Boy." Raven stated.

"You guys mind-melded last year, obviously know you what's wrong. I haven't forgotten about last night, either." Beast Boy Parrot insisted.

Cyborg looked at Beast Boy Parrot. "Last night?"

"I heard something in the hall last night so I went to check it out, and Raven was hugging Robin. Then, I went back into my room and I heard Robin crying, so I came outside again to see what was up and he was all grumpy and he closed the door on me." The green bird summarized.

Cyborg turned to Raven and raised an eyebrow.

"He was upset, and it was bothering me. I can't sleep when _some_ people have nightmares." She glared at Beast Boy Parrot.

"Excuse me, but _I_ didn't have any nightmares last night." The bird retorted. "That was all Mr. Depress-o."

"I'm never getting up at night to give you a hug." Raven stated stoically. "_Ever_."

The door slid open.

"Uh... 'Scuse me, but I still want to know what's up with Robin." Cyborg cut in.

"There is something up with Robin?" Starfire asked, turning to face Beast Boy Parrot. "And why is Beast Boy in a jar?"

Raven sipped her tea.

"Hi, Star!" Beast Boy Parrot squawked. "Robin's depressed and Raven won't tell us why."

The readhead's face fell. "Robin becomes sad on this day every year. I recall asking him about it once..." Starfire trailed off. The four were so focused on their conversation that they didn't hear their leader open the door and walk in again.

"What'd he say?" Beast Boy asked.

"I was told that it is the anniversary of an event that he did not enjoy, and that he has not been the same since. He refused to say anything more, and I did not force him." The Tameranian stated.

"Raven, why won't you tell us?" Beast Boy asked impatiently.

"Maybe because it's none of your _business_?" Raven asked him grumpily.

Robin, who had managed to slip into the room unnoticed, opened the fridge and grabbed an apple. His teammates gaped.

"Hello Robin!" Starfire greeted cheerfully.

"Uh... How long have you been in here?" Cyborg asked awkwardly.

"Does it really matter?" Robin replied in monotone. Before anyone could protest, the door had closed again.

Cyborg flipped his bacon and stuck an entire ham into the oven. "I can't take it anymore!" Beast Boy announced, morphing into a fruit fly and darting out through one of the air holes. Switching back into a human, he stuck his tongue at Cyborg. "Ha_ha_!" The green changeling sprinted out of the room. Pausing in the doorway, he added "Raven sucks."

The empath glowered at him as he skipped out of the room.

"Want an-" Cyborg attempted to offer food to her, but she had already phased through the ceiling in order to meditate. He turned back to the stove and finished preparing his breakfast. "Do _you_ want any, Star?"

"Yes! That would be most wondrous! What have you prepared?" Starfire asked excitedly.

"Ham and bacon." Cyborg replied.

"Glorious!" She exclaimed.

* * *

**I can't.**

**I just...**

**I can't.**


	3. Chapter 3

**My friend (coughcoughSHELDONcoughcough) was sending me sad clips from an anime he made me watch and I decided to channel those feelings into a depressing chapter. Oh, the joys of writing. I'll start typing the actual content now.**

**Sheldon, stop stalking me. Srs. Go away.**

* * *

Raven floated silently in the air, trying to block out the plethora of emotions coming from inside the tower. Most days were like this, and many of the usual feelings registered clearly among others: confusion, happiness, pleasure, excitement, and sadness. There would always always sadness, not always from the same people, but there would always be sadness.

Recently, however, there had been more than usual. The same thing had happened last year, though none of her teammates had really noticed, most likely due to a certain _Robin's_ strange need to hide his emotions from those around him. It was ridiculous, and when he set his mind to it, he was nearly as good as Raven herself. Of course, he completely missed the concept of _not feeling_ the emotions, and just made it harder for any nearby Ravens to concentrate, especially through the (however weak) empathic link they'd acquired about a year ago, when he'd come in contact with the hallucinogenic dust from Slade's mask.

Raven cracked open one eye, only to have a large raindrop fall into it from her hood. She frowned, phasing through the floor in order to get back inside, her soaked cloak dripping water all over the carpet. Cyborg and Starfire, who had previously been chowing down on a ridiculous amount of eggs, ham, and bacon, looked at her, puzzled.

"It's raining." Raven stated plainly before floating out of the room, leaving a trail of cloak water.

In the hallway, Beast Boy was in the middle of trying to enter Robin's room. However, none of his attempts had been successful, apparently, because he had settled on playing basketball with the door.

_Thump, whack, catch. Thump, whack, catch._

"You're lucky his room is soundproofed." She told the changeling.

"Somehow, it's not soundproofed enough." Robin's muffled comment was barely detectable through the thick walls. Though the statement proved that Beast Boy's antics had been annoying him, it didn't sound like he was angry.

"What are you trying to accomplish here?" Raven questioned her green teammate.

Robin opened his door. "Yeah, do you need something?"

"I, uh..." Beast Boy rubbed the back of his neck. He turned to Raven. "Hey, is it raining?"

"You haven't answered our question." She stated.

Beast Boy sweatdropped.

"I'm planning on taking a walk. Unless you need to ask me something." Robin asked the shapeshifter.

Beast Boy was unable to hold it any any longer. "What happened on this day?" He blurted out.

Robin feigned confusion. Raven shot him a look of puzzlement as she left to change her clothing.

"Uh... I mean you're all depressed today, and you did practically the same thing last..." Beast Boy realized that Robin had left. "Dude! Stop doing that!"

He looked around for a moment before noticing Robin's door. Robin's_ open_ door. A mischievous smile appeared on the green changeling's face. Walking slowly down the hall, he burst dramatically into the main room.

"Hello!" Starfire greeted cheerfully as she placed her plate flat in the bottom of the dishwasher. Cyborg bent down and adjusted the position of the plate so that it sat properly.

"Robin left to go on a walk, right?" Beast Boy asked the two titans.

"Yeah, just now. He told us he'd be back in a couple hours." Cyborg replied as he showed Starfire how to properly load the dishwasher.

"Cyborg." Beast Boy stated seriously.

"Yeah?" Cyborg asked, raising an eyebrow at his teammate.

"He left his door open." Beast Boy said dramatically.

"Beast Boy, are you planning on doing the snooping of Robin's room?" Starfire questioned.

"That's-" Cyborg was cut off.

"I know it sounds bad, but Raven is never gonna tell us what's up with today. As his friends, we deserve to know what happened. It could be something important." Beast Boy reasoned.

"I would also like to know what has caused Robin to become so upset." Starfire admitted.

"As much as I think that's a complete and total invasion of his privacy... I'm in." Cyborg stated as he shut the dishwasher. "We going right now?"

"Well, yeah. This is probably the best chance we're gonna get. I mean, Robin doesn't go on walks often." Beast Boy answered, his usual childish demeanor replaced with a more mature air.

"Let us begin the snooping!" Starfire announced, flying to the exit.

"Onwards!" Beast Boy saluted, following the Tameranian alongside Cyborg. When they entered his room, nobody really knew what to think. His walls were covered with various news clippings and photos of various criminals, a great deal of them being about Slade, and his bed sat neatly made in the middle of the room. All of the shelves and cases were bare, save for an alarm clock and lamp, giving the room a stange feel.

"It's empty!" Beast Boy exclaimed. It was true, the room had practically nothing in it. Cyborg and Starfire inspected the newspaper articles and pictures on the walls.

"You act like you've never been in here before." Cyborg commented, entranced by the large amount of information before him.

Starfire's gaze shifted to the bed. "I had not realized how little he kept before now." She mused.

"He's gotta keep at least _something_ personal. He lives here!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

Cyborg stopped walking. "When we were building the tower, he asked me to give him a secret compartment in the closet. I didn't know what it was for, but I bet that's where he keeps his stuff!" The mechanical teen thought aloud, rushing towards the closet with two of his teammates following him. Sure enough, when Cyborg opened the doors, he found the outline of a compartment in the back of the closet. The indentation wasn't very large, but it wasn't small, either: about one square meter.

Beast Boy whistled. "Genius! Why didn't I think of that?" He said.

"But it is locked." Starfire stated, pointing to a padlock on the top of the indentation.

Cyborg winked at her and pressed a few buttons on his arm, a small metal rod with ridges extending from the index finger on his right hand. He inserted it into the padlock and, after wiggling it around for a little while, heard a click. The mechanical teen retracted the lockpick and pulled the padlock off of the compartment.

"Star, you do the honors." He said curtly.

"The... Honors?" The Tameranian looked at Cyborg, puzzled.

"He means you should open it." Beast Boy explained, pushing Robin's uniforms out of the way of the compartment.

Starfire reached forward tentatively and slowly pulled the handle down, revealing 3 lidded shoeboxes (one red, one black, and one small, black and worn), what looked like a long metal trapeze handle, and a folded up poster.

"Jackpot!" Beast Boy thought aloud. "What do we look at first?" His hands hovered above the bounty, unsure of what to pick up.

"What is this long metal rod?" Starfire asked, picking up and inspecting the silver pole. Some of the temper had worn off from years of usage, leaving two well-worn patches in the middle of it, and there were intricate swirly designs stemming from the edges engraved in the metal. The Tameranian turned it over in her hands, revealing the initials 'M.G.' and some dried brown liquid running up the length of it.

"I think it's a trapeze bar. Is that _blood_?" Beast Boy snatched the object from Starfire's hands, sniffing the brown substance furiously. "It is! Why does Robin have a bloody trapeze bar?" He asked, astonished.

Cyborg held out his arm, a hologram scanning the offending substance.

"It's not Robin's blood, but I have no idea where it came from." The mechanical teen stated. "Trapeze artists use safety nets, so it's probably not from a fall." _Probably_ not.

"The trapeze is an acrobatic piece of equipment, is it not? Why would it be strange for Robin to have one?" The redhead asked, puzzled.

"Well, I don't know if Robin is a trapeze artist. I mean, it takes a lot of skill to do those tricks." Beast Boy replied, still inspecting the metal bar.

"He could have been. He insisted on putting a trapeze setup in one of the training courses, but he's never used it for some reason." Cyborg stated, remembering Robin insisting on putting those silly things up. "Hey, can I see that?" He asked Beast Boy.

"Sure." The green changeling held it out.

Cyborg took it graciously, inspecting every inch of the worn metal. "Anyone know what M.G. stands for?"

They both shook their heads as Cyborg placed it back into the compartment. "Alright, what's next?" He asked them, gesturing to the rest of the relics with his mechanical arm.

"I wish to see the contents of the red box." Starfire stated, picking up the shoebox and placing it on the floor. The three titans sat down in a circle, eager to see what was inside. She slowly lifted the lid, revealing some folded up clothing with a note on top. Cyborg took the paper and read it aloud.

"_Mandi is`i corthu desteredre, O zhuvindo_...?" He read hesitantly, stumbling with the odd tongue.

"That's not English." Beast Boy stated plainly.

"Thank you for sharing, Captain Obvious. We have to translate it. You don't know the language, do you, Star?" Cyborg turned to the redhead.

She shook her head. "It is not Tameranian, nor is it Japanese."

"Wait, if Robin knows this language, why didn't you learn it when you kissed him?" Beast Boy questioned.

"When I kissed Robin, he had been speaking English to me. I did not wish to learn any other languages, but if I had, his knowledge of them would have been passed on to me." Starfire explained.

Beast Boy pulled out a camera and snapped a picture of the note. "How 'bout we translate it when we're done."

"Good idea." Cyborg commented. They looked back at the box as Starfire set down the page and pulled out what looked like a smaller, slightly different version of his Robin costume, minus the cape and belt. The Tameranian inspected the red top and green leggings, running her fingers across the 'R' on the chest.

"This is what is called a leotard, correct?" She asked her two teammates. Beast Boy lifted up the ends of the green leggings, fingering the fabric and nodding.

"Definitely a leotard. This isn't the same material as his uniforms." The shapeshifter stated, looking at the box once more. He pulled out another leotard, this one was slightly smaller and had black bottoms and a red top adorned with a gold wing design. "Another leotard. I'm _pretty_ sure Robin used to be a trapeze artist." He stated plainly.

"It appears so. During the few times I was able to watch the Batman fight, he did not exhibit the ability to do as many flips and acrobatic maneuvers as Robin." Starfire mused, folding up the leotards carefully before placing them back into the box, along with the note. "What is next?"

Cyborg held out the worn black box. "Way ahead of you." He placed it in front of his teammates.

Beast Boy lifted the lid gingerly, exposing the full box of tissue paper padding. After poking around for a bit, he came across an intricate locket. It was oval shaped, spirals and curves engraved delicately on the silvery front and back, stemming out into a looped metal trim. In the middle, there was a tiny, dazzling blue sapphire, swirling with colours of azure, turquoise, and cobalt inlaid right in the metal. Starfire gasped.

"It is beautiful!" She exclaimed. Beast Boy flipped the locket open, revealing two pictures: one of a small boy with spiky black hair and bright blue eyes the same colour as the sapphire, who couldn't have been more than 6. The other was of a tall, muscled man in his early thirties, with the same jet black hair and smile, but with warm, chocolatey brown eyes.

"Huh. Always wondered what colour his eyes were." Cyborg mused.

"Pardon?" Starfire asked.

Cyborg pointed to the picture of the little boy. "I think that's Robin, and that guy looks like his dad. This was probably his mom's locket."

The titans were eerily quiet as they passed the necklace around like it was show and tell.

"He's an orphan." Beast boy broke the silence.

Starfire put her hand to her mouth in astonishment. "How did you come to know this?"

"Raven told me last night." The changeling explained.

"That is most unfortunate. I had always thought the the Batman was his father." Starfire said sadly.

"I think Batman adopted him." Cyborg said, placing the locket back in the box carefully. "BB, trade you." He placed the lid back on and held it towards Beast Boy, who swapped it for the last shoebox.

Raven stood quietly in the hall, listening intently on the conversation that was taking place between her teammates. She hadn't stopped them yet for some reason, almost enjoying the fact that they didn't realize the truth when it was right under their noses. As much as she knew how much Robin wanted to keep his past from the team, they were bound to find out eventually. Raven felt that they deserved to know.

Sucking in a deep breath before turning the corner, she stood in the doorway, clearing her throat. The three rule-breakers looked up in horror.

"It is not what it appears to be!" Starfire yelled, holding her hands up in surrender.

"What she said!" Beast Boy screeched.

"Look," She breathed, "I know you want to learn more about Robin. There's a reason I haven't stopped you yet. but maybe you can just... Find out some other way? One that doesn't invade his privacy to the point where it's downright _ridiculous_?" The empath reasoned.

Cyborg slowly placed the box back in the compartment. "I don't supposed you know what this 'other way' is?"

"I have an idea." She said mysteriously. "There's still a trapeze in the gym, right?"

* * *

**I AM FEENASHED.**

**Jeez, that was longer than I usually write.  
**

**ENJOI.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for all the nice feedback!**

**Just so everyone knows, I need story ideas, so send an email to the address on my profile or PM me if you have stuff you'd like to read about. Seriously. I am demanding requests. This was written around early November 2012, so if it's not January yet and I haven't removed this, you should give me ideas. I want them. I ****_need_**** them. They are my lifeblood. **

**Check out my my profile for details. After you read this, of course. **

**Also, I've gotten hundred of hits in the past week or so but I can barely count the amount of reviews I've gotten on one hand. So please, when you're done this chapter, just go down and tell me what you think. It's really motivational to read feedback and it helps when I have an opinion that isn't my own.  
**

* * *

Richard Grayson walked slowly down a rainy sidewalk in Jump City. No, not Robin. Robin was taking a break.

Dick didn't remember the last time he'd walked around as a civilian. What was it, 2 years ago? 2 and a half? He just didn't remember anymore. Either way, it had been a long time, and he felt like a completely normal Gothamite. Excuse me, a _former_ Gothamite.

Robin never took a break. He hadn't in years. When he'd first met his teammates and formed the Titans, the Boy Wonder had planned on keeping his identity a secret. So secret, in fact, that he barely wore anything but his uniform. It had been fine, and his friends had barely questioned his motives, for some reason, despite him being the only member of the team to actually have a functioning alter-ego.

Richard's mind drifted to another topic. Beast Boy. A kid who had a past that was frighteningly similar to Robin's, a kid who still managed to be happy. But was he really happy? What if the constant bad jokes and smiles had just been cover-up? Dick shook his head. His green teammate was sometimes more mysterious than Raven, and he didn't even do it on purpose.

All of his friends were quite trustworthy. Even though Batman hadn't actually called and explicitly told him to keep his identity from his teammates, it seemed like it would be some sort of an unspoken rule. His alter-ego was, of course, linked to Batman's and consequently the entire League's, so if one of the Titans decided to betray the others, they would be able to use it as major blackmail, maybe worse. Robin still took precautions like this despite the falling out with his mentor a few years back.

Richard stopped walking for a moment and brushed a dripping lock of inky black hair away from his eyes in annoyance, not used to having it hanging on his forehead. He would have kept it gelled up, but many civilians would have made the connection if Richard Grayson had come out into Jump City with the same hairstyle as Robin. His build in general could have evoked suspicion, but Dick had worn a hoodie not only to cover up his scars and muscles, but also to protect him from the rain.

Though he possessed civilian clothing, Robin didn't have an umbrella due to the water-resistant nature of his cape. Regrettably he had been so focused on escaping Beast Boy's inevitable questioning that he hadn't thought to ask one of his other teammates for one. Shivering slightly, he looked across the street, spying an open cafe. Crossing the road quickly, he entered the warm environment.

* * *

At Titans Tower, four young heroes sat around a table, discussing their absent leader.

"I still don't understand why you're helping us do this." Cyborg commented.

"I'm helping you do this because Robin keeps too many secrets from you." Raven explained, exasperated.

"Why don't _you_ just tel-" Beast Boy began.

"Friends, please cease the arguing! Might we go over our plan once more?" Starfire interrupted.

"It's not really much of a plan, Star. The only thing we have written down here is 'Get Robin on the trapeze somehow so he'll tell us why he's depressed.'." Beast Boy held up the almost blank piece of paper.

Suddenly, something in the air shifted. The heroes heard something shuffle in the kitchen and got up to investigate.

"What was that?" Beast Boy thought aloud, looking around the counters. Upon closer inspection, they realized that the strange shuffling noise was coming from the microwave. Before they could look closer, the electric appliance beeped loudly and the door opened, revealing... Larry?

The small Robin double hopped down from his perch and looked up at the Titans silently. His poker face was unbelievable.

Raven, to everyone's surprise, knelt down and pulled the small hero into an almost motherly embrace. Before anyone could react, he began sobbing loudly onto her shoulder.

"AAAAUGH!" Beast Boy shrieked, hiding behind the kitchen island. Cyborg looked flabbergasted, and Starfire just knelt down beside them with a concerned expression on her face.

"I wish to know what is troubling the Robins." She stated softly. Larry just shook his head and continued soaking Raven's leotard with his tears.

Cyborg just scratched his head. "I don't get it."

The top of Beast Boy's head peeked out from the edge of the counter. "What is there not to get? The universe is _broken_! Look, Robin's crying, both _our_ Boy Blunder _and_ Larry-Nosy-Whatever, and Raven's giving _hugs_! It's the end of the world!" He screeched, flailing his arms all around.

"As much as all those things are pretty weird, there's gotta be a logical explanation." Cyborg reasoned.

"There _is_. It's the end of the world!" Beast Boy insisted.

Larry hopped out of Raven's arms and wiped his nose. "Is it okay if Larry stays here until Robin changes out of his civilian clothes?" The Titans gaped.

"He went out in _civvies_?" Beast Boy sputtered. "I didn't even know that was something he did!"

"Is that not the reason Robin has a secret identity?" Starfire asked, confused.

"Well, yeah, Star, but we've lived with Robin for two and a half years and this is the first time he's done it." Cyborg explained.

"The first time." Beast Boy echoed.

"If his identity was publicized it could jeopardize the entire Justice League." Raven stated.

Cyborg raised an eyebrow at her. "Robin's still part of the Justice League?"

Before Raven could explain, Larry cut in.

"He's not really on speaking terms with Batman anymore, but they're still technically..." The small Robin double paused for a moment. "Close."

"What do you mean by 'close'?" Beast Boy questioned.

"Batman is Robin's legal guardian." Raven stated plainly.

Beast Boy elbowed Cyborg. "_Told_ you the Bat adopted him."

"Not adopted. He's his ward." Larry explained, sniffling.

"So, you pretty much know everything about Robin?" Beast Boy asked.

"'Course I do, I'm his number one fan. _And_ we're the same person." Larry answered proudly.

Beast Boy's eyes glinted excitedly. "So maybe you can-"

"Translate this note we found!" Cyborg finished, shoving Beast Boy out of the way to show Larry the picture on the digital camera. The small double's eyes widened.

"I don't really wanna translate that. It's kinda personal." Larry squeaked.

"But you do know the language in which it is written?" Starfire asked. The small double began nodding his head, only to be interrupted by Starfire's face as she pulled him into a fierce kiss, much to the surprise of everyone else. "_Nais tuke_!" She said quickly, turning around to snatch the camera from Cyborg's metal hands as Larry melted into a skin-coloured puddle. Her brow furrowed and a frown crossed her face. "I do not understand this. Is it what you call an 'inside joke'?"

"Robin's gonna freak when he finds out you did that." Beast Boy breathed, still shocked from witnessing the kiss.

Starfire crossed her arms. "Robin and Larry are the same person. He should not be jealous."

"So, uh..." Cyborg rubbed the back of his neck. "What does it say?"

"It says '_Mandi is`i corthu desteredre, O zhuvindo.'" _She read fluently. Raven levitated the camera out of the Tameranian's hands.

"In English?" Beast Boy requested. Starfire looked sheepish.

"Oh. It says 'I are-I mean, _am _one _or_ a bird, the live one. I am a bird, the live one." She stated proudly, despite her stumbling.

"And why did you tell Larry he had a nice tuque?" Beast Boy asked.

"_Nais tuke_ means 'thank you' in Robin's strange earthly language." Starfire explained.

"What language is it, anyway? I can't find it in my translator." Cyborg pressed some buttons on his arm.

Starfire opened her mouth to speak, but Raven beat her to it. "It's Romani." She stated dryly.

Beast Boy's ears perked up. "Romani? Like, the Gypsy language? Weird."

"Yep." Cyborg agreed. Beast Boy walked over to the puddle of skin-coloured goop.

"Hey Larry, wanna play video games with us 'till Robin gets back?" He asked hopefully. The puddle slowly reformed back into a human.

"Sure, okay." Larry sniffled.

* * *

The air inside the coffee shop was warm and inviting. Though it wasn't very busy, the 5-6 customers that were there appeared to be having a nice time. They chatted and ate cheerfully despite the miserable weather outside. The smell of hot chocolate, coffee, and various baked goods filled Dick's nose. He sat down at a table and looked around at the various paintings and decorative chalkboards hung up on the textured squash-coloured walls.

Dick picked up the small menu that had been sitting on the table, reading the beverages section.

A friendly blonde waitress wearing a dark purple apron over a white t-shirt and black jeans flounced over to him, her bouncy yellow curls held back with a thick headband the same colour as her apron.

"Hi, I'm Ana, interested in anything?" She asked cheerfully, holding a small notepad and pen in one hand. He looked up at her.

"Uh, just a hot chocolate, thanks." Dick requested awkwardly. It was strange not having people stare at him all the time. The waitress was treating him like a normal civilian, and it was nice.

Ana jotted his order down on her paper quickly.

"Whipped cream?" She asked.

"Sure." Dick replied as she finished.

"It'll be a few minutes. You can pay at the counter when it's done." She stated before picking up his menu and bouncing off towards the counter where the other employees were working.

Though a few of the girls inside the cafe gave him flirtatious looks, it didn't look like anyone recognized him here. This was good, because he didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. Besides, according to Bruce Wayne, Richard Grayson had been sent to a fancy boarding school. After the first few months people had stopped caring about the billionaire's ward. He was thankful for that.

Dick just stared ahead for a few minutes, half looking around, half thinking about his past, and half thinking about his team. Three halves. Somehow, they all fit in that giant spiky head of his.

_I wonder what the Titans are doing right now. Are they looking through my stuff? Probably not. Raven would stop them. Starfire would lecture them about how unethical it was. Not like I keep much in my room, at least. Unless my closet compartment counts as part of my room. If my closet compartment counts as part of my room, then-_

A 'ding' coming from the counter jostled him from his thoughts. "Hot chocolate with whipped cream?" The brown haired cashier called out, sliding a tall paper coffee cup (what are they called again?) with a black lid and a 'caution, hot beverage!' sleeve across the counter. Dick rose from his seat and walked up to the boy, who looked to be about his age. He had bright green eyes and a lopsided smile that looked a lot like a smirk. He was also wearing the same white shirt, black jeans, and purple apron as the waitress. What was her name, again? Right, Ana.

"Yours?" The cashier asked. He nodded. "That'll be $3.50." Dick pulled a crumpled five dollar bill out of his pocket, unfolding it before passing it to the boy.

"$1.50 change. Thanks, man." He poured the coins into the customer's hands and leaned over the counter to get a closer look at Dick's face, laughing when the hero-in-disguise backed away out of instinct. "Dude, I'm not gonna lick you. I just haven't seen you around here before. Name's Jack, what's yours?" He asked.

He relaxed. Sometimes his reflexes _weren't_ such a good thing.

"Uh, Richard." He replied stiffly, still shocked from almost being head-butted by the cashier.

Jack put a fist to his chin and thought about the name for a second. "Nope, never heard of you. You _do_ look kinda familiar, though."

"Probably a coincidence." Dick stated awkwardly, his gaze shifting to the steaming beverage in front of him.

Jack's smirk grew wider. "Not much of a talker, are you, Ritchie?"

The Boy Wonder in disguise looked back up and frowned at the nickname. "My friends call me Dick. And I'm just having an off day is all." He brushed some hair out of his face as he said so. Jack the Cashier seemed friendly enough, though Dick wondered what he was trying to do.

"Are you trying to say I'm your friend?" Jack asked, smiling.

Dick was slightly taken aback by this question. "I, uh, if you want to be." He picked up the hot chocolate and blew on it. _I walk out as a civilian for the first time in years and the second person I talk to wants to be my friend._

Jack's eyes glinted with excitement. "You know, I get off in like," He lifted his arm up to look at his watch, "15 minutes, and me and a few of my friends are gonna hang out downtown after that. You wanna come?"

Dick's eye's widened with surprise. _He's actually asking a complete stranger to come hang out with him?_ "Seriously? I just met you 2 minutes ago." He sipped his scalding hot beverage.

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. "So? You wanna come or not?"

"S-Sure." Dick stammered, still confused.

Jack took another paper coffee cup with a black lid from an African-American boy who was also around Dick's age. His curly black hair was well-kept and his apron had several splatters on it from mixing drinks. "Hey, Andre, Dickie here is hanging with us today."

The boy apparently named Andre turned to look at Dick and back to Jack. "Cool." He walked up to the counter and held his arm out for a handshake, which Dick accepted.

Jack rang the bell with an obnoxiously loud 'ding!' "Green tea latte." He announced.

An older woman dressed in a fancy blue blouse and black dress pants handed over her credit card and paid for her drink. "Thank you!" She yelled as she scurried out the door and into the rain, pulling a jacket on as she moved.

"Where are you from, anyway? I know, like, everyone around here, and I don't think I've seen you before." Jack mused.

Dick thought fast. "Gotham City. I'm staying here with some friends." He said quickly.

Andre turned from his coffee maker. "Gotham, huh? Ever see the Bat?"

Dick's eyes narrowed slightly and there was a pause of awkward silence before he spoke. "No, I've never seen the Batman."

* * *

**The awkward moment when your chapter is getting too long.**

**I totally wanted to put Larry somewhere in this story, and while it's not what I thought of in the first place, it's satisfactory. **

**Also, what do you think Dick, Jack, Andre, and the other guys should do when they hang out? I was thinking an indoor skate park or something. Suggest stuff in your reviews, but remember this fic is K+, so no drugs and stuff.**

**I'll be posting another chapter soon, as I am in super-duper writing mode right now.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I did it. I watched several hours of really big gaps on skateboards.  
**

**Come at me. My body is ready.  
**

* * *

Beast Boy sat on the couch beside Cyborg and Larry with a video game controller in his hand, a small pink tongue poking out of the corner of his lips in concentration.

Suddenly, the green changeling's character was hit with a red turtle shell, knocking him off of the road.

"Cyborg!" He yelled in frustration.

"Wasn't me." The half-robot replied, turning his controller to the side abruptly. He spied Robin's avatar as it zipped past him. Nobody had batted an eyelash when Larry had taken to using what was technically his own profile- They just hadn't expected him to be as _good_ as the real thing.

"Dude, Larry's gonna beat Robin's high score!" Beast Boy yelled.

"I've only lapped you five times." Larry stated glumly.

"_Five times_?! I thought it was three!" Beast Boy complained.

"No_,_ he's lapped _me_ three times._" _Cyborg explained calmly.

"Why do you guys have to be the same person? I didn't know epic Mario Kart skills were in your genetics!" The shapeshifter groaned as the winner screen came up. "How is that even possible?" He exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the astonishing score.

"It's gotta be the R-Cycle." Cyborg thought aloud.

"It is." Larry stated quietly, sinking lower into the couch. "Lotsa' practice." Starfire scooted closer and opened her mouth to speak.

"Do you know when Robin will be back?" She asked.

"He's at a cafe downtown." His magic finger glowed and a projector screen floated down from the ceiling. It showed the outside of a coffee shop. The Titans leaned forward for a closer look at the windows, but could not see anyone inside that struck them as Robin-ish (apparently, the hair gel really did make a difference).

"What's he doing in there?" Beast Boy asked.

"It is cold outside. Perhaps he is getting a warm beverage or a late breakfast." Starfire mused. They sat there looking at the screen for a moment.

"Why are we stalking Robin?" Raven looked up from her book, bored. "He'll be back eventually. It's not like he can't handle himself."

"But I _like_ birdwatching. Haha, get it? Birdwatching?" Beast Boy chuckled at his own joke, but stopped when Cyborg elbowed him in the ribs.

Raven scowled. "This is why I don't have a secret identity." Beast Boy pouted, mentally picturing himself sitting on the rooftop with Cyborg, binoculars in their hands, watching Robin and Raven in their civilian clothes. There was an awkward moment of silence for a moment, the only sound being the soft crinkle of paper as Raven turned a page in her book.

"I'm bored of this. We should work on our 'totally invade Robin's privacy' plan." Beast Boy told his friends. There was a low murmur of agreement from two of them. Larry, after getting rid of his screen, turned over and buried his face in the couch, and didn't appear to be interested in what Beast Boy had to say._ At least he isn't killing us._

With the trans-dimensional fanboy double out of the picture, that left Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven. When the purple-haired empath only glared at him and snapped her book shut, floating out of the room, he assessed his remaining 'partners-in-crime'.

"We are the worst of friends," Starfire stated guiltily, "and I have no regrets." She finished quickly, zipping over to the round table where they had left their paper and basket of pencils, crayons, and markers. A discarded half of a yellow crayon lay on the ground, alone as ever. Starfire had decided earlier that if it was yellow, it was tasty, and had then proceeded to ferociously rip off half of the wax writing implement with her sharp Tameranian teeth. Needless to say, it 'was not as flavorful as she had previously anticipated', a statement that earned no comments from her shell-shocked teammates.

Beast Boy grabbed a pencil and paper and began writing something down with vicious intent.

Cyborg's metal feet made soft clanging noises as he made his way over to his friends. Sitting down on one of the fold-up chairs that had been set up earlier, he peered at what the green changeling was scribbling on a new piece of paper.

First, Beast Boy positioned the page portrait-style, and drew a vertical line down the middle with his pencil. Next, he drew another line, horizontal this time, across the top of the page, creating two columns. In the box on the top right, he wrote down 'Normal' in his messy, barely legible scrawl. In the box on the top left, he wrote 'Weird-ish'.

"Uh..." Cyborg faltered when he saw his friend's 'creation'. Before Starfire could voice her confusion, Beast Boy had begun explaining.

He jabbed a finger at the right side of the paper. "Things we know about Robin that are normal." He clarified, moving his finger to the left side of the page. "Things we know about Robin that are Weird-ish. But they've gotta be things that only we would know." He finished. There was a pause as the two heroes processed the information.

"I understand!" Starfire exclaimed. "This is a clever idea, Beast Boy. I do not think Robin himself could have thought up a better solution." She patted his green hair in a way she had seen on Earth television. Beast Boy grinned, his chest swelling with pride.

"I know, I'm amazing." He stated, beaming at the Tameranian. Cyborg rolled his human eye at the changeling's behavior, grabbing another pencil from the basket. Pausing to think for a moment, he began writing something down in the 'normal' category. Beast Boy leaned in to peer at the words.

_Doesn't like tomato soup._

"Good start. Got anything, Star?" Beast Boy asked the Tameranian hopefully. She did appear to be the closest to Robin, after all.

"Er... He wears the mask of dominoes?" She asked hesitantly. Her teammates facepalmed.

* * *

Jack untied his purple apron and stuffed it in his red backpack, whistling a made-up tune as he did so. Andre walked out of the staff bathroom, now changed into a black t-shirt and somewhat ripped jeans. Dick wasn't sure where his apron had gone, but did his best to not care. Getting out of what he had dubbed 'Robin-mode' was proving to be more of a challenge than he had previously anticipated. He found his head filled with 'how hard will I have to throw this cup of hot chocolate at Jack's head if I want to knock him unconscious' and 'that cranberry juice smudge on Andre's cheek looks awfully suspicious'.

He unconsciously held a hand over his utility belt, which was in his pocket, disguised as one of those large, fancy packs of gum. Sure, Jump City was no Gotham, but Robin's philosophy was 'You can never be too careful'. He wondered what would happen if somebody caught him off guard and ended up on the floor, Dick pinning them down by the throat with his bo staff, or held against the wall with a birdarang to their neck. Would they look at him funny if he flipped over their heads? If he caught a tic-tac in midair? The hero sipped his hot chocolate leisurely, his face completely void of any emotion or sign that he'd been thinking about pinning his newfound 'friends' to the ground by their throats with a four-foot-long metal rod.

"Dude." Dick looked up, suddenly greeted with a pair of bright green eyes and a mop of brown hair. Jack. "You coming?" He panned over to the door, where Andre and another boy with blonde hair and brown eyes that he didn't recognize were standing.

Dick nodded and sat up, taking one last sip of his hot chocolate. He eyed the trash can that was all the way across the room, estimating the distance and planning his move almost unconsciously. With one flick of his wrist, the brown paper cup sailed across the room and straight into the flap of the trash can before walking up to Andre and the other boy. He mentally scolded himself for accidentally throwing it in the same manner he did birdarangs.

"Nice." The blonde kid commented, leaning on the long skateboard that Dick had noticed the minute he had set foot in the store. On the side with the wheels, it appeared to have been signed and drawn on by several different people over the years. The kid's short hair was gelled up a little in the front as opposed to Robin's spiky style.

Dick blew a chunk of his own bothersome black hair out of his eye in annoyance at the thought of hair gel. He was seriously considering sawing his bangs off with a birdarang at this point.

Jack walked up and put it upon himself to introduce them. "Dickie, Devon. Devon, Dickie." He gestured from one boy to the other. Devon held his fist out in an invitation for a fist bump. Dick gladly accepted the gesture, surprised that everyone was being so nice to him. He guessed that he had gotten used to the sour personalities of his foes.

"Just Dick is fine." He told the boy, who smirked slightly at the name.

"I guess I wouldn't wanna be called Richard either." Devon commented. "Or, uh, Dickie. Nice throw, by the way. Cups make great boomerangs." Ah, so he'd noticed.

Dick inwardly winced at the mention of his mistake. "Thought the plastic lid would have messed up the spin." He hesitantly indulged in what Cyborg had fondly dubbed 'weapon talk', albeit rather halfheartedly. So far, his efforts to take his mind off of the memories had been ineffective.

"Tell me about it. Hollow paper cylinders? Screw them!" Devon threw his hands up dramatically, brown eyes glinting with delight.

"I made a shuriken out of a plastic fork once." Dick replied, hesitation now gone, hopefully diverting Devon's attention away from the fact that he'd just used a paper coffee cup as a birdarang.

"Seriously? Was it good?" Devon asked, brown eyes glinting with delight. Obviously he hadn't had the chance to talk to anyone with such knowledge in a long time.

"No. It sucked." He deadpanned. Devon broke out in a grin and turned to his other friends.

"I like this guy!" He announced enthusiastically.

Jack elbowed Andre lightly in the arm. "Nerds." He huffed, feigning exasperation. Andre smirked in agreement.

"We're gonna go pick up Megs and Brad at the park. It's just down the street." The chocolate-skinned boy explained. Everyone nodded in understanding as Jack opened the door to let them out.

Before Dick knew it, he was outside again. The cold was rather shocking compared to the overly-warm atmosphere and scent of the coffee shop. The rain had calmed down some during the time he'd been inside but showed no signs of stopping anytime soon, dark clouds still hanging overhead. It was almost funny how the weather seemed to mimic his mood.

"Manly weather." Jack and Andre chorused, bumping fists simultaneously. Devon added a 'whoop' just for the sake of participation in their circle of broship, but Dick just hung back. After all, he'd only just met these people. These amazing, friendly, potential murderers. Who may or may not be armed and plotting to kill him. Did they even know how to hide a body properly?

Robin, of course, knew the city like the back of his hand from the years he'd spent hopping off of rooftops and busting crimes. Dick, on the other hand, was presumably a kid from Gotham who was new to the city. He merely followed the rest of the group, pretending to be place they were going to was called Ivory Park, a playground beside a grass field, a concrete basketball court, and a skate park. From what he'd heard, very popular among kids his age living in Jump City. He'd been there a couple times, and none of the visits had been to merely 'hang out', as much as Beast Boy had pleaded.

"So..." Dick lifted his head up to see a pair of warm brown eyes and an almost elvish face. Devon was short- well, shorter than him, anyway. Dick could compare him easily to Beast Boy or Raven. His lanky frame held less muscle than he was used to seeing among other heroes, but more than the average teenager, at least from what he could see through the slightly worn beige hoodie. "Where you from?" Devon asked hesitantly, absentmindedly fiddling with the drawstrings on his hoodie. He'd passed his skateboard to Andre earlier, and now the two other teens had gone sightly ahead, attempting to both ride on it at once. It wasn't working. He watched out of the corner of his eye as they tumbled to the ground once more and onto the wet concrete, Jack yelping in surprise.

Dick just stared for a moment. _Is the fact that everyone knows that my civilian identity isn't from here cause for concern?_

"Gotham." He stated simply.

"Ah." He sounded, waiting a moment before continuing. "I guess it's kinda required to know all that stuff about weapons out there, then?" He asked with curiosity. Dick paused, not sure how to reply.

"You could say that." He answered hesitantly. Devon seemed satisfied, however, a smirk playing on his lips.

"So, how bad is it really? The crime, I mean." The blonde boy asked. Robin would have had hundreds of answers to that question, more than half of them bouncing around Dick's head like a massive game of ping-pong.

"People... Get kidnapped. Regularly. Lots of break-ins and tame stuff like that." Dick explained carefully, "There are... Rapists, and thieves. Pretty much everything under the sun, plus a few more."

Devon let out a low whistle.

"Harsh." He commented, scratching the side of his head after a few moments of silence. "What're you doing here, then?"

"Oh. I'm, uh, taking a break from my studies." Dick mentally slapped himself. Really, he'd just been _asking_ for that one.

"What kinds of studies?" _Okay, think of a story. Think of a _story_, Dick. It's not that hard! _

"Boring ones. If anyone asks where I am, say I'm at Burchenwood Academy, doing my work like a good little boy." Dick stage-whispered automatically, his tone of voice giving no hints that he'd made up the statement on the dot. Hey, Richard Grayson was _supposed_ to be at school.

Devon's eyes widened. "Burchenwood?"

Dick didn't slap himself this time. No, this time he _punched_ himself._ Hard. _"Yes." He confirmed, his voice dropping the cocky tone quickly. Sure, dropping a hint that pointed to how filthy rich he was supposed to be wasn't as bad as dropping a hint that pointed towards his life as a vigilante, but he didn't really want to be treated differently.

"He_llo_ there, children!" Jack popped up beside them on the skateboard, causing Devon to jump slightly at the new presence beside him. Dick just looked on with an expression of indifference, having been aware of the boy's antics from the moment he had stopped fooling around with Andre, who now strolled beside Dick at the end of their line, stepping carefully on the edge of the curb.

"So Dick-ster," Jack began, earning a snort from Andre, "What's eatin' ya?" He asked Dick, who was slightly taken aback by the question.

"Huh?" He asked. Devon just watched the conversation, slightly amused by Jack's behavior towards their new friend.

"You know, 'I'm just having an off day'. Care to elaborate on this, my good sir?" The brown-haired boy inquired in a bad English accent, not sure if Dick was normally this quiet and sad. Maybe it was a Gothamite thing?

"Oh." He looked around at the faces of his new 'friends', all seemingly interested in what he had to say. "It's just a bad day."

Andre raised an eyebrow at the response. "You're not gonna tell us, are you?"

Dick just looked at him and shrugged. Jack suddenly perked up.

"Did your girlfriend break up with you?" He asked quickly, pushing his foot on the concrete a few times to keep up with his friends while using Devon's skateboard.

Dick gave him an 'are you kidding me?' look. Jack's excited expression fell.

"Did somebody prank you?" The brown-haired boy asked hopefully. Dick shook his head.

"I'm not playing 20 questions with you." He stated blatantly.

"Yo, why are you such a dick?" Andre asked. Devon and Jack snickered.

* * *

**I made a derp.**

**Haunted, apparently, came after X. So, Rex X exists, but he's not Jack. Shh.**

**Sorry this took so long. I'm thinking of removing Fly Away, Little Bird from the website because while it seemed like a good idea when I started it, I now realize that it is bad and I should feel bad. +1.**

**I've been working on other oneshots for Whirlwind, but that's no excuse for this. In all honesty, I have been slacking off and I need you to slap me.**

**In other news, I just went to a Chinese restaurant and had 'Crispy Milk'. It was delicious.**


End file.
